REVELATION STUDIES part 1

REVELATION STUDIES

There are four classical approaches to interpreting Revelation. 

            They are as follows.

    Idealist – symbolic language is striped of any value regarding specific future events considering such as just a general description of the ongoing struggle between good and evil. Does not accept predictive prophecy.

   Preterist – all events described were taking place at the time of the writer and are therefore all in the past. As far as relevance for modern times, this view resorts to the Idealist view. There has arisen a spin off group who call themselves “Semi- Preterorists”. These hold to the classical Pretorist view up to the point of the literal Second Coming of Christ, whereupon they spiritualize the language surrounding the event but confirm the actual occurrence in the future.

   Historicist – sees the book of Revelation as the story of the Christian Church from Apostolic times till the return of the Lord. There is no wide spread agreement as to the meanings of the symbols, or the interpretive method itself.

ó  Futurist – recognizes the pressure put on the Church by Rome at the time of the writing of Revelation and its historical significance, but holds to the view that the majority of the events in the book refer to the future. The bulk of which are clustered together at the end of the age. This view sees the scriptures in the most literal sense unless clearly warranted to do otherwise (as in Rev.1: 20)

The Millennium

 Other major distinctions among schools of prophetic interpretation center around the thousand-year     reign of Christ referred to in Rev.20: 4- 7, known as “the Millennium”.

Amillennialism – there will never be a literal Millennium. First introduced by Augustine. Later adopted by the Catholic Church and held by most of the Reformers. The Christian church will transform the world into the kingdom of God, then Christ will return and there will be a general resurrection followed by a general judgement of all people. Others see prophetic fulfillment only in Heaven. There is no distinct Tribulation Period just general tribulation that the church undergoes throughout the ages, and no Rapture (viewed as a non-Biblical concept). There is no distinction between Israel and the Church in this view, since the old covenant has been “replaced” with the new. This view is held by modern Historicists, Pretorists, Semi- Pretorists, Reformed, and Covenant theologians.

Postmillennialism – similar to the Amillennial position in that it teaches that the kingdom of God is now being extended throughout the world by the Church resulting in the Christianization of the whole world, culminating in a long period of peace and righteousness known as the “Millennium”. After which Christ returns followed by the general resurrection, the general judgement, and the full implementation of Heaven and Hell. The tribulation is only general and there is no Rapture as such, only a momentary meeting in the air between the Lord and the saints of all ages, both living and dead, and then an immediate return to the earth with Christ, which altogether constitutes the second coming. Held by traditional Historicists, some Preterists, Liberals, and Theonomists (the institution of the Mosaic Law over all mankind).

ó   Premillennialism – there will be a literal thousand year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Saints on the earth at the end of the age. Here again differing prophetic schools, all of whom are Futurists, make major distinctions, revolving around the timing of the “Rapture of the Saints”

The Rapture

                                        I Cor.15: 51-52 ; I Thes.4: 13- 18

I) ó Pretribulationism – The church will be caught up into the air to meet Christ in the clouds prior to the beginning of the Tribulation Period, and will return with Christ to the earth at the end of the Tribulation to rule and reign with Him for the literal 1,000 yr. Millennium.

               II)      Partial Rapture theory – Only the godly Christians will be

                         raptured before The Tribulation and the rest of the church 

                         will remain on earth to suffer through it.

  III)      A second Partial Rapture theory is that there will be a series

             of small raptures wherein groups of Christians will go as 

             they are ready.

IV)     Midtribulationism — The church will be on earth for the 

           first 31/2 yrs. of the Tribulation but will be taken out before

           the beginning of the Great Tribulation, which is the 

           second half.  

V)     Posttribulationism — The church will be raptured at the 

           end of the Tribulation Period and then immediately 

          return to the earth. 

Revelation Studies chart 1

REVELATION STUDIES

                Millennium Time line Chart 

  

The Millennium

The Millennium

In order to communicate effectively, people must come to an agreement concerning the definitions of words and phrases. Whenever there is disagreement about what a term or terms mean, they must be clarified before any meaningful discourse can take place.

The term Millennium is one that many people have trouble with. Some say that it is not a Biblical term, or even a Biblical concept. It is this confusion that I want to address in this brief paper.

When we study the Bible we often rely upon work done by others in previous generations, sometimes even of different views. We review, analyze and sometimes incorporate some of their terms into our own language in order to maintain continuity of meaning when discussing a given concept. This is the case with the term millennium. We take it over from the Latin translation of the bible, as we do many theological terms ( like Rapture) due to the fact that for centuries the Latin was the officially recognized version of the bible and these questions were debated mostly during that time.

In Rev.20: 4- 7 the original Greek text mentions a phrase six times, which is translated in the English versions as “Thousand Years”. 

The Greek reads “Chilia Etae”   ( χιλια = 1,000; , ετα = years). The term used for the first three hundred years by the Christian Church to refer to Christ’s one thousand-year reign as described clearly in Revelation was “Chiliasim” kil’é æ zm. The Latin translation reads “Mille (thousand) Annum (years). So it is very easy to see that not only is the Millennium a Biblical concept, but it is also an exact Biblical phrase. (By the way, the exact same thing is true concerning the Rapture; Greek =  ἁρπάζω  =  harpazo = caught up = Latin = raptus).

Those who want to deny the reality of the Millennium will have to do so not by denying that it is in the Bible, but by declaring that the Bible does not mean what is says in plain language.

Following is a short description of the various positions that are taken regarding the Millennium.

 ¶   Premillennialism – there will be a literal thousand year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Saints on the earth at the end of the age. There are differing prophetic schools of thought in the premillennial camp, all of which are Futurists. Major distinctions are made concerning the timing of the “Rapture of the Saints”.

       Amillennialism – there will never be a literal Millennium. First introduced by Augustine. Later adopted by the Catholic Church and held by most of the Reformers. The Christian church will transform the world into the kingdom of God, then Christ will return and there will be a general resurrection followed by a general judgement of all people. Others see prophetic fulfillment only in Heaven (no reign on earth at all). There is no distinct Tribulation Period just general tribulation that the church undergoes throughout the ages, and no Rapture (viewed as a non-Biblical concept). There is no distinction between Israel and the Church in this view (replacement theology), since the old covenant has been “replaced” with the new. This view is held by modern Historicists, Pretorists, Semi- Pretorists, Reformed, and Covenant theologians.

        Postmillennialism – similar to the Amillennial position in that it teaches that the kingdom of God is now being extended throughout the world by the Church resulting in the Christianization of the whole world, culminating in a long period of peace and righteousness known as the “Millennium”. After which Christ returns followed by the general resurrection, the general judgement, and the full implementation of Heaven and Hell. The tribulation is only general and there is no Rapture as such, only a momentary meeting in the air between the Lord and the saints of all ages, both living and dead, and then an immediate return to the earth with Christ, which altogether constitutes the second coming. Held by traditional Historicists, some Preterists, Liberals, and Theonomists (those who promote the re-institution of the Mosaic Law, but this time over all of mankind).

Relevant Christianity

Relevant Christianity

 With the summer winding down and fall right around the corner, many people will be busy with all kinds of plans and activities. Vacations are over, it’s back to school time for students and teachers. The sports season is in transition, fashions on the racks in stores and menus in the restaurants are all new and fresh.  So in this time of new beginnings it strikes me as a good time to evaluate my Christian walk, taking in to consideration past successes and failures with an eye toward planing for greater effectiveness and relevance in the future. I believe the key to success in any undertaking lies in maintaining two clear perspectives. They are simplicity and consistency. Here are four simple practices that many have had success with in maintaining an effective Christian walk. Of course no one can live the Christian life without the guidance and empowering of the Holy Spirit. So the first step is to daily seek His guidance, and then maintain these simple practices consistently. These are tried and true principles. If you are seeking a richer relationship with God and more relevance as a committed Christian in the world, make them part of your plans for a new beginning.

I)    Bible Reading ~

1.Deut.8:3 – Man lives by bread and what else?_______________________________   

2.  Ex.6:16-21 – How often are we to gather our spiritual food? ____________________

3.  Rev.2:17 - What is promised to the overcomer? _______________________________

4.  Ps.119:103 – How does David describe God’s words? _________________________

5.  I Pe.2:2 – What gives growth? ____________________________________________

6.  Deut.6:6 ; Ps.119:11 – What are we to keep in our heart? _______________________

 7.  Ps.119:105 – What helps us see our way? ___________________________________

 8. II Pe.1:19 – What do we have and what should we do with it?___________________________________________________________________________________

II)    Prayer ~

Mk.1:35 – When did our Lord pray? ______________________________________

2.  Lk.6:12 –When else did our Savior pray? ___________________________________

3.  Lk.5:16 – Where did the Master pray? _____________________________________

4.  Mt.11:20, 25 ; Jn.11:41;17:1 – Where else did Jesus pray? _____________________

________________________________________________________________________

5.  Mt.6:6 – What did Christ command us to do? What is the promise? _______________

________________________________________________________________________

6.  I Th.5:17 – So, how often, where, and how long are we to pray? _________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

III)    Church Attendance / Christian Fellowship ~

Mt.18:20 ; I Jn.1:3 – Who is with us when we gather together?

_______________________________________________________________________

2.  Heb.10:24-25 – Who are we to consider?____________________________________

3. What are we not to do? __________________________________________________

4.  Eph.5:19 ; Col.3:16 – What are we to do and with whom? 

________________________________________________________________________

5.  Jn.15:12, 17; 13: 34-35 – What did our Lord command us to do?_________________

6.  How will all men know that we are the Disciples of Christ? _____________________

7.  I Jn.3:11, 18; 4:7-8, 20-21 – What should we do? _____________________________,

 How should we do it? _______________________________,
 Where does it come from? _____________,

8.  What does it show when we do it? _________________________________________

9.  When we don’t? _______________________________________________________.

10. What is the standard with which we are to judge ourselves and others? 

_______________________________________________________________________

IV)   Witnessing ~

Mt.28:19-20 – What is “The Great Commission”? 

_______________________________________________________________________

2.   Mt.10:32-33 + Lk.12:8-9; I Jn.2:23 + 4:15 -  What is the promise

 and the warning regarding public confession of The Lord Jesus Christ? 

________________________________________________________________________

3.  Ro.10:9-10 – What is it besides our faith that assures our salvation? 
                                                                                                                             

4.  Ro.10:13-14 – How are the unsaved able to be saved and what’s our part? 

________________________________________________________________________

5. Acts 1:8 ; I Pe.3:15 – What are we to be? _________________  __________________

6. II Tim.1:8 – What are we not to be? ________________________________________

7. Ps.66:16; 96:2-4 – Who are we to tell? ___________________  __________________

8. Jer.20:9 ; Acts 4:18-20 – What experience did the Prophets and the Apostles have

 in common? _______________________________________________________________

9. II Cor.4:13 – We believe, therefore we should do what? ________________________

10. Titus 2:1-15 – We are to ___________things of sound doctrine, 

older women are to _______ the younger, we are to have sound 

________ that cannot be condemned. These things we are to

____________, and ___________, and ___________, with all authority.

ØVerse 15b In the N.A.S.B. says, “Let no one disregard you.” You are RELEVANT !

11. II Tim. 1:7- 8 – What has God given to us, and what should we do?

_______________________________________________________________________

            Well, that’s it, I believe that if we will follow this simple plan with
 consistency good results are sure to follow. May God bless your efforts
 to become a more relevant Christian wherever you are whether you’re
 at home, or at work or school,or just out and about, and of course
 last but by no means least at church!                                

                                                                                                                           D.R.Z. Sr.  

Leader's version with answers:                                                                                                                   

 Relevant Christianity

 With the summer winding down and fall right around the corner, many people will be busy with all kinds of plans and activities. Vacations are over, it’s back to school time for students and teachers.

 The sports season is in transition, fashions on the racks in stores and menus in the restaurants are all new and fresh.  So in this time of new beginnings it strikes me as a good time to evaluate my Christian walk, taking in to consideration past successes and failures with an eye toward planing for greater effectiveness and relevance in the future. I believe the key to success in any undertaking lies in maintaining two clear perspectives. They are simplicity and consistency. Here are four simple practices that many have had success with in maintaining an effective Christian walk. Of course no one can live the Christian life without the guidance and empowering of the Holy Spirit. So the first step is to daily seek His guidance, and then maintain these simple practices consistently. These are tried and true principles. If you are seeking a richer relationship with God and more relevance as a committed Christian in the world, make them part of your plans for a new beginning.

I) Bible Reading ~

1. Deut.8:3 – Man lives by bread and what else? The Word of God.  

2. Ex.16:16-21 – How often are we to gather our spiritual food?  Daily, every day    

3. Rev.2:17 -What is promised to the overcomer? Hidden Manna (revealed mysteries of God, See - Prov.3:32; Jn4:32; Mt.13:11, also the full sufficency of Christ.)          

4. Ps.119:103 – How does David describe God’s words? Sweeter than honey in his mouth.

5. I Pe.2:2 – What gives growth?  The milk of the Word

6. Deut.6:6 ; Ps.119:11 – What are we to keep in our heart? The Word of God

7. Ps.119:105 – What helps us see our way? God’s Word

8. II Pe.1:19 – What do we have and what should we do with it?   The Word made sure.

Pay close attention to it until the Lord comes again.

II) Prayer ~

1. Mk.1:35 –When did our Lord pray? Early in the morning while it was dark

2. Lk.6:12 –When else did our Savior pray?  At the end of the day and all night.

3. Lk.5:16 – Where did the Master pray?  In a solitary place by Himself.

4. Mt.11:20, 25 ; Jn.11:41;17:1 – Where else did Jesus pray? In public.

5. Mt.6:6 – What did Christ command us to do? What is the promise? Go into our room, close the door, and pray.  The Father will repay us.

6. I Th.5:17 – So, how often, where, and how long are we to pray? Morning and evening,

While alone or in public, unceasingly.

III)    Church Attendance / Christian Fellowship ~

1.  Mt.18:20 ; I Jn.1:3 – Who is with us when we gather together?

The Lord, the invisible Church, the Father, and the Son.

2.  Heb.10:24-25 – Who are we to consider? Each other

 3. What are we not to do? Forsake our assembling together

4.  Eph.5:19 ; Col.3:16 – What are we to do and with whom?  Fellowship and worship with one another.

5.  Jn.15:12, 17; 13: 34-35 – What did our Lord command us to do? Love one another.

6.  How will all men know that we are the Disciples of Christ?   If we love one another

7.  I Jn.3:11, 18; 4:7-8, 20-21 – What should we do? Love one another, How should we do it?  In deed and in truth, Where does it come from? God,

8.  What does it show when we do it? That we are born of God (born again)

9.  When we don’t? That we cannot love God and we are a liar if we say we do.

10.What is the standard by which we are to judge ourselves and others by?  The one who loves God should love his brother Christian

IV)     Witnessing ~

1. Mt.28:19-20 – What is “The Great Commission”? Go and make 
disciples and teach them

2.  Mt.10:32-33 + Lk.12:8-9; I Jn.2:23 + 4:15 -  What is the promise and the warning regarding public confession of The Lord Jesus Christ? If we confess Christ before men

He will confess us before the Father and the angels of God. If we deny Him He will deny us, we will not hasve the Father

3. Ro.10:9-10 – What is it besides our faith that assures our salvation? Our confession of Jesus as Lord

4. Ro.10:13-14 – How are the unsaved able to be saved and what’s our part? By hearing the Word of God. We are to tell it to them.

5. Acts 1:8 ; I Pe.3:15 – What are we to be? His witnesses  Always ready to make a defence for the hope that is in us.

6. II Tim.1:8 – What are we not to be? Afraid to give testimony of the Lord.

7. Ps.66:16; 96:2-4 – Who are we to tell? All who fear God, amoung
 all nations, all peoples.

8. Jer.20:9 ; Acts 4:18-20 – What experience did the Prophets and the
 Apostles have in common? 
They could not repress or contain the word of God. They had to declair it
publicly.

9. II Cor.4:13 – We believe, therefore we should do what?  Speak.

10. Titus 2:1-15 – We are to speak things of sound doctrine, older women are to teach
the younger, we are to have sound speach that cannot be condemned. These things we are to

speak, and exhort, and rebuke- reprove, with all authority.

Verse 15b In the N. A. S. B. says, “Let no one disregard you.” You are RELEVANT !

11. II Tim. 1:7- 8 – What has God given us, and what should we do? The power of love
 and discipline, not to be ashamed but to join Paul and the disciples, the prophets, the martyrs,  

And our Lord and savior Jesus Christ in the privilege of suffering for the gospel if need be, according to the power of God.  WITNESS!

            Well, that’s it, I believe that if we will follow this simple plan with consistency good results are sure to follow. May God bless your efforts to become a more relevant Christian wherever you are whether you’re at home, or at work or school, or just out and about, and of course last but by no means least at church!

                                                                                                                           D.R.Z. Sr.

                                                                                                                            

  

“Who do people say that I am?”

Jesus Christ asks the all important question

                        “Who do people say that I am?”

Mt. 16: 13-17; (Mk.8:27-30) – Question: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Question: “But who do you say that I am?”

Answer: “John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

Answer: “The Christ the Son of the Living God.”

Response: “Blessed are you, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My

Father who is in heaven.”

Following is a list of some of the things that people have said concerning who Jesus is. You may notice that many of these errors and heresies still linger on today. 

                                                                      †

Adoptionism : Jesus was merely an ordinary man of unusual virtue or closeness to God whom God “adopted” into divine sonship. This event took place at the baptism of Jesus and involved only a special divine activity upon Jesus, not the personal presence in Him of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. This position on the nature of Jesus was condemned as heresy at the Synod of Antioch A D 268. Some are still trying to bring this error back into the Church today, claiming that Jesus had no miraculous power until after His Baptism and that this exact same power is available to anyone today, if they will receive the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” This error of course denies the uniqueness and preeminence of Christ. While we will become like Christ, we will never become equal to Him in any way.

Arianism: Due to the fact that God is unique and ingenerate (self-existent, not generated) and that His essential attributes could never be communicated (shared, or transferred) to any other  (because that would bridge the great gulf between Creator and creature), Jesus could not be divine. In addition to this insurmountable problem, the human development and weakness of Jesus prove that He could not be divine. Jesus was the first creation of God the Father and was His special servant in the act of bringing into existence the rest of creation. God Himself is so distinctly separate and of other essence than all of creation that it was required that He bring the Son into existence first because the created order could not bear the immediate (direct) hand of God. This confusion still persists today in the cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Arianism was condemned at the council of Nicea in A D 324 and again at Constantinople in 381.

Docetism : (Gk. dokein = ‘to seem’) Christ’s human body was not really what it appeared to be. It was not made of flesh and blood but was in fact a phantasm. His sufferings and death were mere appearances. ‘If He suffered, He was not God.’ His deity is confirmed, but His humanity is denied. Docetism is the opposite of Arianism. The Gnostics among others held this view. The early church fathers Ignatius and Tertullian were two of the most vocal opponents of  Docetism and its denial of the humanity of Christ. Later in the eleventh century Anselm dealt a strong blow to this concept. In his famous “Why the God Man?” he pointed out most convincingly that to deny Christ’s humanity is to deny the basis of our reconciliation.

Monophysitism : Jesus Christ was not of two natures but of only one nature. That nature was the outcome of the unique union of the two previous natures, human and divine. This new nature was of a third kind and it was singular. The make up of this new singular nature was, regarding the divine like the oceans of the world, and as regarding the human like a drop of honey dissolved in those oceans. This position was repudiated at the Council of Chalcedon A D 451.

Apollinarianism : Apollinarius was the Bishop of Laodecia from A D 361-90. He was a follower of the Alexandrian School of theology, which stressed the deity of Christ over His humanity. He rejected the concept of two natures in Christ in favor of only one and that being divine. At the incarnation the divine Soul of the second person of the Trinity entered into a human body of flesh. As a result of the direct contact of God with the flesh the flesh was apotheosized (elevated to the same substance as God). Man’s redemption is secured by partaking of this divine flesh in the form of the Eucharist.                                                     

       It was absolutely necessary that Jesus not have a human soul because a human soul contains a human mind and a human mind can desire to sin. But Jesus was God and God cannot sin or desire to sin. Furthermore it was not possible for Jesus to have had two souls, a divine and a human, for that would be confusion and contradictory. Man is comprised of two parts, one body and one soul, 1+1= 2. If Jesus had two souls and one body that would be, 2+1= 3 which would make Jesus some kind of bizarre freak. It is not logical to say that 2+1= 2. Therefore the incarnation of the Son of God was a compound unity of a body of human flesh animated by the soul of the Divine Logos which when combined elevated the body to the status of  Divine. This concept was rejected at the Council of Rome in A D 377, at the Council of Alexandria in A D 378, at the Council of Antioch in A D 379, and finally at the Council of Constantinople in A D 381.

Nestorianism : Nestorius was Patriarch of Constantinople from A D 428- 51. He was a follower of the Antiochene School, which stressed the humanity of Christ to the point that some adopted the position that Christ was divided into two persons in one body. The idea was that because Jesus was only one man He appeared to have been the union of two natures. But in fact His humanity had the form of Godhead bestowed upon it, and His Deity took upon itself the form of a servant, the result being the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth. Nestorius strongly objected to the use of the phrase ‘The Mother of God’. He insisted that God could not have a mother and therefore Mary could only rightly be called ‘The mother of man’, the human person Jesus of Nazareth. This distinction lead to the condemnation of Nestorius at the Council of Ephesis in A D 431. Nestorius vehemently maintained his orthodoxy right up to his death. Controversy still surrounds the question as to whether he was a heretic or not, or if in fact he even ever taught that Christ was two persons in the form of one man. His defense was that he denied admitting to only a moral union of the two natures. But instead he held to the belief that the union was syntactic (the two natures were in complete agreement like parts of speech in the same voice, tense number and gender, forming an orderly arrangement that violated neither) and the union was voluntary. This doctrine survives today in the Assyrian Christian Church. There is still an ongoing debate among modern scholars as to whether or not Nestorius was ever really a Nestorian.

Orthodoxy : Jesus Christ is unique in human history. He was and is the God/man. He is one person with two natures. He was fully divine and He was fully human. His two natures are eternally united and eternally distinct. The foundational statement for orthodox Christology came out of the Council of Chalcedon in A D 451.

        ]  The question that Jesus asked two thousand years ago is still the most important question that anyone could ever ask. And so each of us must ask ourselves ‘Who do I say that Jesus is?’ There is no avoiding the issue, for to not ask or not answer is to deny the significance of Jesus Himself and that would be an answer in itself, an answer of denial of Christ. If however we can answer with Peter and millions of others ‘He is the Christ the Son of the living God’ we too will hear those miraculous words ‘Blessed are you, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’

The Incarnation of the Son of God

    The Incarnation of the Son of God

The orthodox position concerning the incarnation of Christ was formulated at the Council of Chalcedon (A.D.451). Although no positive explanation is offered concerning the mechanism of the union of God and man in Christ, it is helpful in what is stated from the negative.

“Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood [not two persons but of two natures], truly God and truly man [preexistent and unchanging as God], consisting also of a reasonable soul and body [created as man in time and space with a human body, human soul, and a rational human spirit]; 0ne of substance with the Father as regards His Godhead [He retains all of the divine attributes both communicable and incommunicable], and at the same time of one substance as us as regards His manhood [He has emotions, passions, and desires, He experiences physical sensations]; like us in all respects apart from sin; as regards His Godhead  begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards His manhood,  for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion [His two natures are in perfect union (identical) as regards the communicable aspects of God like love, justice, truth and holiness, while each retains unto itself those characteristics that are not communicable to one another such as in His Godhead; aseity (self existence). Simplicity (indivisibility), necessity (non-contingency), immutability (unchangeability), impassability (without passions), eternity (nontemporality), immensity (infinity), unity (oneness), omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence] without change [each nature retains its integrity], without division [perfectly in harmony] without separation [forever united]; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one Person and substance, not as parted or separated into two Persons, but one and the same Son and only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ;” [his human nature Is not swallowed up by his Divine nor is His Divine nature limited (except voluntarily) by His human, He is one person with two distinct intact noncontradictory perfectly harmonious and complimentary natures and two distinct wills (one human and one divine)].

The Holy Spirit and the Christian

      The Holy Spirit and the Christian

I.  The Baptism: The prepositions are key to our understanding.

a.       Baptism of the Holy Spirit: The baptism of  the Holy Spirit is the beginning of the Christian life. It is one aspect of the new birth. In order to help us understand what the Baptism of  the Holy Spirit means, it will be helpful to first discuss the concept of the new birth.  

John 3:5-7- “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

Much speculation has surrounded the phrase, “water and the Spirit”. It is possible that Jesus meant natural human birth as the first type, “water birth”. Natural birth is accompanied by lots of fluids, i.e. water, so that could be it. The flesh of the baby is born out of the flesh of the mother amidst the “water”. The second birth, the birth from above (anothen in the Greek), is a spiritual birth. Many believe that man’s natural spirit is dead because of Adam’s sin and so there needs to be a new spirit born in him to replace the dead spirit inherited from Adam. However, man cannot live without a spirit see Lk.8:55; Mt.27:50, and furthermore, spirits don’t die. All men have living spirits.

Spiritual death is a metaphor and is nowhere actually mentioned in scripture. The concept is biblical in the sense that a change needs to take place within the inner man, a renewal or rebirth so to speak. But this does not provide what is needed to obtain eternal life.  An actual new birth, something that wasn’t there before is what is needed, not simply a makeover of the old. Spiritual death cannot be taken literally and has actually confused the issue of personal responsibility for sin. It must be read into such passages as Eph.2:1 which, for example, in context is speaking of positional rather than actual death (One was previously under the sure condemnation of future physical death, the wages of sin. This is commonly known as the prophetic present tense.)  The positional rather than the actual aspect of the context is clearly seen in verse 6. The believer is said to be now “seated with Christ in heavenly places”, a positional reality to be sure, but not yet accomplished in the physical (it will become an actual physical reality for all Christians, living and dead, at the rapture). So, there is a problem with this understanding. The figurative is taken as literal and the positional is taken as actual and experiential.

If man already has a spirit, which he must in order to be alive, see Jas.2:26, then he can not have a new human spirit born in him, for a man can not have two human spirits alive in him at the same time. That would be confusion. A more likely understanding of what Jesus meant by “born of the Spirit” would be that the believer was now born into the family of God. This is a completely new state of being and is accomplished when the living Spirit of God takes up residence within the heart of the believer alongside of his own spirit. It is not confusion to accept the fact that the Spirit of God can reside within a man at the same time as his own human spirit. In fact, Jesus Christ is our perfect model of this beautiful truth Lk.4:1; 22:42.

As a child of God the Holy Spirit now lives within the Christian. Along with the indwelling Holy Spirit comes the power of life that can never die. It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead, Ro.8:11 because it is the same Spirit. In Ro.8:10  the believer even after conversion is said to be “living in a dead body”(not a zombie, but in plain language, positionally dead, condemned to physical death), but alive in the spirit (currently living in eternal life) dead and alive at the same time. Both of these are current truths positionally and will become actual physical truths in the future. The old mortal body will be done away with and a new immortal body will be given 1 Cor.15:53.

In addition to this understanding or as an alternative way to understand the phrase “water and the Spirit” would be to take the water birth as a euphemism for water baptism, initiated by the person himself by way of personal repentance. This is an act of the free will, in obedience to the command of God; Acts 17:30, performed in the natural, i.e. “the flesh”; not the flesh in the sense of “the seat of evil impulses”, but the flesh in the sense of “the natural ability of man to choose”. (The term flesh in the New Testament has many and varied connotations, not all of which are negative, see Mt.19:5; Lk.3:6; Jn.1:14; 6:51; Acts 2:17; Ro.9:5; 1 Cor.15:39; 2 Cor.5:16; Gal.2:20; Heb.5:7; 1 Jn.4:2, etc.) The meaning of “flesh” must be discerned from the context. The Spiritual birth, the new birth, is the occasion of the Baptism of  the Holy Spirit whereby the repentant believer is born into the family of God, an act performed by God alone.

So what Jesus may have been saying is that in order for one to enter into the Kingdom of God, he must have and exhibit his own genuine repentance and faith in God, which is represented by water baptism. (This was the topic of much discussion at that time surrounding the ministry of John the Baptist and would have been very natural in the conversation that Jesus and Nicodemus were having.) And, in addition to personal repentance and faith, he must also be baptized in and by the Holy Spirit. This understanding is borne out, at least in principle, in scripture.

Acts 19:2-6 – “He said unto them, have ye received the Holy Spirit since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.” Obviously they acted through their own choice. They knew nothing of the Holy Spirit. They chose to repent and undergo the ritual of water baptism. Without question an act of good faith on their part, undertaken in the flesh, i.e. the natural. ”That which is born of flesh is flesh”, good as far as it goes.

But good faith and repentance alone will not save a sinner. Neither will any action taken in the flesh, such as water baptism. Only the grace and direct action of God can save. “Then said Paul; John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (A second water baptism, again performed by an act of their own free will). And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them (by the supernatural action of God alone, 1 Cor.12:7+11); and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

Titus 3:5- “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” The washing of regeneration is the new birth. It is symbolized by the ritualistic bath of water baptism. The renewing of the Holy Ghost is the newness of life that accompanies the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is the new birth into the family of God unto eternal life. The baptism of the Holy Spirit reestablishes and renews the lost relationship with God that a person suffers because of their sin.

Rom. 6:3-4 – “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into

Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death (portrayed by going under the water) in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too (as portrayed by the coming up out of the water) may live a new life.” We are born again from the dead into new life.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a second experiential blessing. It is in fact technically non-experiential. That is to say, it need not be accompanied by any supernatural outward experience. It is an inward work of God on the heart, mind, soul and spirit of the believer. It is the exclusive work of God. We know that it has taken place by many experiences that follow, but the baptism itself is not based upon of derived from any experience. It is based upon what the word of God says and on that alone. There should be no confusion between the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is an act of God and is internal, and believers water baptism, which is an act of the individual and is external. The later is to demonstrate the fact that an inward transformation, regeneration and new birth have taken place in the spiritual. Water baptism is initiated by and performed by the believer and the church in obedience to the command of the Lord (Mt.28: 19). It is done in the flesh, in the natural world. It does not regenerate or give new life. Holy Spirit Baptism is initiated and performed by God alone. It is supernatural and takes place in the spiritual realm. It brings new life and regeneration with it. Both the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and water baptism are the biblical norm for the Christian. See Acts 8: 34-38 and 10: 44-48.

Just for the purpose of clarification, and not to confuse the issue of Baptism of the Holy Spirit, let me say one thing more regarding the two births. A third way to understand the idea of natural birth (born of flesh) and Spiritual birth (non-flesh, i.e. born of the Spirit) is found in 1 Cor.15:39-50. This section introduces the reality of an actual “physical” spiritual birth yet future, when we will all receive a new body, a glorified body, a heavenly body, a spiritual body as opposed to our natural fleshly body. So in a purely literal sense there are two actual physical births. We have alluded to this earlier, but I just wanted to make it clear. This truth in no way conflicts with either of the previous two understandings.   

b.      Baptism by the Holy Spirit: 1 Cor 12:12-14 - “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” The “one body” is the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the active agent of the Baptism. He does the baptizing.

    

c.       Baptism into the Holy Spirit: 1 Cor 12:13-  “and (we) have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the unifying agent of the Baptism. He is what makes the body one. It is the Spirit in each of us that connects us together. We are no longer in the flesh, we are now in the Spirit Ro.8:9-10. Just as we are in Christ Ro.8:1.

d.      Baptism with the Holy Spirit: Matt 3:11- “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” The Holy Spirit is the substance, as it were, of the Baptism. The believer is immersed in His person and His presence.

Acts 11:16 - “Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.”

II. The Anointing: The anointing of the Holy Spirit is God’s special work of confirmation,

                Illumination and empowerment for service in His kingdom.

a.       1 John 2:20, 27 - “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.”  “His anointing teaches you.” 2 Cor 1:21 - “Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;” The word stablisheth in the Greek is a very powerful word, bebaioo, that is to say, confirmed or established.

Paul is speaking in terms of a present experience. The word stablisheth is in the present tense, see its use in Mark 16:20 and Col. 2:7. The concept is that the Anointing of the Holy Spirit will bring with it a confirmation of present assurance to the believer. An assurance that God’s hand is upon them and that they are firmly established and secure as a child of God Ro.8:16. And God will equip them for His work. The story of the anointing of David is a beautiful picture of this truth. David was anointed when he was still a youth. God then carried him along for many years through trials and tribulations, developing him and teaching him to depend completely upon God in all situations. The result was that David had complete confidence in God and he became Israel’s greatest king, not to mention that he became the author of so many of the beautiful Psalms.

b.      The verb, translated anointed, in the Greek is chrio. The name Christ, Christos, “The Anointed One” comes from the same root. In fact, most of the references to the anointing of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament refer to Jesus. See Lk.4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:38; Heb.1:9.

c.       Acts 1:4-8 - Just before Jesus departed in the ascension He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to Come upon them. When He (the Spirit) did, He would Baptize them and  “clothe them with power from on high” (Lk. 24:49). He told them that this promise was from God the Father and that He, Jesus, would not leave them alone Jn.14:16-18.  He promised that when He (the Spirit) came that He would be with them and in them. When the day of Pentecost came and the promise was fulfilled the disciples were filled with confidence and confirmation. When the Spirit comes upon the believer at the moment of the new birth, both the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Anointing of the Holy Spirit take place simultaneously. Each action of God is distinct and provides its own unique blessings.

d.        The transforming power of the Holy Spirit is the story of the birth and growth of the Church. The Apostles and first disciples went from doubting, fearful and confused to bold and confident, filled with knowledge and power and certain of their calling and mission.

The Holy Spirit is “poured out upon the believer” like the holy anointing oil in the Old Testament was poured out on individuals designated for service as prophets, priests and kings and such. It is an act of confirmation and empowerment within the heart of a believer that God has appointed him into His service. 

    

III.           The Indwelling: The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the unique privilege of the Christian in this age. If the Holy Spirit does not live with in you then you are not a Christian.

a.       You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. – 1 Cor.3:16; 6:19

b.      If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you – Ro.8:9-11

c.       He will be with you and in you. - Jn.14:16-18: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall  give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

     I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

d.      He even lives in carnal and sinning Christians – 1Cor.3:1-15; 5:1-13 - “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal.” “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles--that a man has his father's wife!”

IV.           The Sealing: The sealing of the Holy Spirit is God’s Stamp of ownership upon the believer. It is the guarantee of successful delivery to the prescribed destination

a.       2 Cor 1:22 - “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our

     hearts.”

2 Cor 5:1-5 – “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

b.      I know whom I have believed – 2 Tim.1:12,  and He knows His own – 2 Tim.2:19

c.       Kept by the power of God – 1 Pet.1:2-9 –  He holds us, we do not hold Him. We are saved by grace through faith Eph.2:8-9. Our faith is not works; it is our initial acceptance of His gift of grace. He takes it from there. Indeed, He took it from before the foundation of the world in His foreknowledge 1 Pet.1:2; Rev.13:8; 17:8 .

d.      Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. – Ro.8:37-39

V.              The Filling:

a.        Eph. 5:18-21 – “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

b.      The filling of the Spirit is different from the indwelling of the Spirit in that once the Spirit indwells a believer, He never leaves. The filling comes and goes.

VI.           The Fruit:

a.        Gal.5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, 

      goodness, faithfulness,   gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

VII.       The Gifting:

a.          Ro.12:6-8 – “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

b.         1 Cor.12:8-10, 28-30 – “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are

differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”

c.   Eph.4:11 - “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,     

      and some pastors and teachers.”   

VIII.    The Quenching:

a.    1 Thess. 5:16-22 – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for    

this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”

IX.           The Grieving:

a.     Eph. 4:29-32 – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only         

what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

X.              The Leading:

a.          Gal. 5:18-21 – “But if you are led of the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

b.         Gal 5:16, 25 – “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” –  “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

XI.           The Witnessing:

a.             Rom. 8:14-17 – “ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of

God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”                

   

b.            Gal. 4:5-7 – “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”

c.             Rom. 8:26-27 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.”

d.            Mark 14:36 - "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." The Christian enjoys an intimate family relationship with God like Jesus.

The Holy Spirit and the Christian have a very special and indeed unique relationship. No other group of people at any time ever enjoyed the same intimate and permanent relationship that we as Christians now enjoy.

The Holy Spirit in relation to people in the Old Testament:

   

A.      Selective Indwelling: The preposition in, beth in the Hebrew.

1.        Gen.41:38 – Pharaoh recognized that the Spirit was in Joseph.

2.       Num.27:18 – God said that the Spirit was in Joshua.

3.       Dan.4:8; 5:11-14; 6:3 – It was the Holy Spirit in Daniel.

B.      The preposition upon, al in the Hebrew.

1.  Many people in the Old Testament were said to have the Holy Spirit come upon

     them, in fact, this was the norm.

     Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 1 Sam.10:9-10;16:13

C.      Some were said to be filled with the Spirit, mawlaw in the Hebrew.

1.  Ex. 31:3-6 – God equipped certain people to accomplish certain tasks in His service   

     by Filling them with His Spirit. Interestingly, this is the 1^st mention of the filling of the

     Spirit in the Bible and it is to equip for manual labor.

 Don Zeoli Sr.  2009